The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), enacted by the Parliament in 2019, will be able to be implemented thanks to the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024, which were notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 11, just days before general elections were announced.
Even though the law makes it easier for undocumented members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian, and Jain communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to become citizens, the regulations stipulate that applicants must provide six different kinds of documentation and specify their “date of entry” into India.
The President gave his assent to the Act on December 12, 2019, after it was passed on December 11 of the same year. The Act’s effective date is January 10, 2020, as announced earlier by the MHA.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X, “These rules will now enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in our nation. With this notification PM Shri @narendramodi Ji has delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of our constitution to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in those countries.”
Birth certificates, rental agreements, identity documents, licences, and certificates from schools or other educational institutions provided by Afghan, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi government agencies are among the acceptable documents.
The candidates must present a “eligibility certificate” attesting to their membership in the “Hindu/Sikh/ Buddhist/ Jain/ Parsi/ Christian community and their continued membership in the aforementioned community,” which must be given by a “locally reputed community institution.”
Users must register on the website https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in, and the CAA-2019 mobile application is ready as well. All supporting materials, including photos, must be supplied online. Applications will only be reviewed once security agencies have completed a background investigation.
Online applications will be accepted for citizenship, and each one will be examined by a committee with authority acting through a district-level committee. Officers from the Intelligence Bureau, Post Master General, State or National Informatics Centre, and a representative from the Department of Home and Divisional Railway Manager will be invited to join the empowered committee, which will be led by the Director (Census Operations) in each State.
The Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Post will serve as the committee’s leader at the district level.
The applicants must also submit documentation, such as a copy of their passport or birth certificate, attesting to the parents’ dates of birth. “In case of non-availability of passport of mother/ father, birth certificate of the applicant clearly indicating the name, address and nationality of mother/ father” is to be submitted.
The CAA deadline is December 31, 2014, so in order to demonstrate that the applicant seeking citizenship under Section 6B of CAA, 2019 entered India prior to that date, they will need to present an additional set of documentation, including a copy of their passport, visa, Census enumerator slip, PAN card, electricity bill, and insurance policy. According to the guideline, “documents will be admissible even beyond their validity period and should have been issued by an Indian authority.”
Members of the six communities are protected from prosecution under the Passport Act of 1920 and the Foreigners Act of 1946, which stipulate penalties for entering the nation unlawfully and remaining there while in possession of expired visas and permits.
According to the guidelines, if the applicant does not show up in person to sign the application and take an oath of allegiance, the district-level committee may propose that the application be denied.
An affidavit confirming the accuracy of the statements stated in the application and an affidavit from an Indian citizen attesting to the applicant’s character are required for persons applying for naturalisation under the terms of the Third Schedule. The guidelines stated that “a declaration is required from the applicant that he has adequate knowledge of one of the languages as specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,” explaining that sufficient knowledge would be demonstrated by the applicant’s ability to speak, read, and write the language in question.
Citizenship in India can be obtained by birth, descent, naturalisation, registration, or territorial annexation.
The majority of the northeast is not subject to the CAA. The Sixth Schedule to the Constitution exempts the tribal territories of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura, as well as the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur, from the requirements of the CAA.
In order to formulate the guidelines, the Home Ministry requested at least ten extensions from the parliamentary committee on subordinate legislation.
